Clifford Chance

U.S. Antitrust Agencies Remind Parties of Duty to Preserve Records Associated with Collaboration Tools and Ephemeral Messaging Platforms

January 30, 2024

On January 26, 2024, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (collectively, the “Agencies”) announced that they were updating their standard language regarding parties’ records preservation obligations to include the coverage of “collaboration tools and ephemeral messaging platforms” like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Signal. According to the Agencies’ press release, this updated language will appear in their standard preservation letters and specifications for all second requests, voluntary access letters, and compulsory legal processes, including grand jury subpoenas.

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